Recently, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) acquired a controlling stake in Flavour Warehouse, the largest independent vape company in the UK (holding more than 50% but less than 75%), in order to strengthen its presence in the field of harm reduction products. Flavour Warehouse is one of the largest vape and e-liquid producers in Europe, and its products have been sold in over 80 countries around the world.
Key points:
- JTI (Japan Tobacco International) has acquired the controlling stake of Flavour Warehouse, the largest independent vape company in the UK. Currently, it holds more than 50% but less than 75% of the shares of Flavour Warehouse.
- This transaction aims to strengthen JTI’s presence in the rapidly growing vape market as part of its harm reduction product strategy.
- Flavour Warehouse will maintain its current management team, operate independently without change, and continue to expand in the European and global markets.
Day Tobacco International takes control of the UK’s largest independent vape business
According to The Grocer’s report on May 13th, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has recently obtained “significant control” of Flavour Warehouse, the largest independent vape company in the UK, through equity investment. According to the documents disclosed by Companies House in the UK. JTI currently holds more than 50% but less than 75% of the shares of Flavour Warehouse.
A spokesperson for JTI told The Grocer that the investment “aligns with our strategic path of exploring harm reduction products beyond heated tobacco”, and pointed out that “the core purpose of this transaction is to enhance our participation in the rapidly growing vape segment market.” Flavour Warehouse enjoys a strong market position, excellent reputation and high-quality recognition in the industry.
It is learned that Flavour Warehouse will continue to operate independently after this transaction, and the current management team will remain unchanged.
Flavour Warehouse was established in 2013 and is now one of the largest vape and e-liquid producers in Europe, employing approximately 100 staff members. The company produces and distributes its brands, including Vampire Vape and white-label products of “many leading brands in the industry”.
In recent years, the company has expanded rapidly in the European market and acquired vape and Vaping manufacturers Total Vapour and Premier Vaping in 2019 and 2020 respectively. In 2021, further mergers and acquisitions were made of Trulo Gmbh, headquartered in Germany and Vapouriz in Guildford, UK.
Flavour Warehouse currently has distribution centres in England, Ireland and Germany. Through franchising, distributors and retail networks, its products have reached over 80 countries around the world. Meanwhile, the company operates the vape e-commerce platform Vapestore.co.uk and several offline stores.
Products cover more than 80 countries worldwide
According to NIQ’s annual data as of September 7, 2024, overall cigarette sales in the UK declined by 5.9% year-on-year, and sales volume dropped by 15.2%. Among them, the sales of bulk tobacco dropped by 7.4%, and the sales volume plummeted by 21.6%.
In contrast, the vape market has performed relatively steadily. Although the overall sales volume slightly declined by 0.9% in 2023, it was still far superior to the performance of cigarettes. Blu of Imperial Tobacco (IMB) was the vape brand under the major tobacco company with the highest sales volume last year, increasing by approximately 14.9 million units year-on-year. The sales of the Vuse series under British American Tobacco (BAT) dropped by more than 10%.
The grocer said that the entire market is still dominated by Chinese vape brands.
